Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 178 Refugee Uprising
Ji Qiu looked at Cai Wenji, considering how to strike up a conversation.

Perhaps we could directly reveal the identity of Cai Zhenji's husband.

But before he could make a decision, he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation in the air.

The next moment, twilight, like a crumpled rag, spread helplessly across the sky.

Beneath the iron pots at the soup kitchen, the firewood crackled and popped as if dying, and sparks suddenly burst forth like startled red butterflies fluttering about.

Cai Wenji's hand holding the wooden spoon trembled slightly. The ripples on the surface of the porridge had not yet subsided when she looked up at the line of refugees. In their sunken eye sockets, she saw the blades forged by hunger.

A loud crash shattered the silence as the porridge bucket was violently overturned.

The thick porridge, like a brown river, flowed freely across the muddy ground.

The first group of refugees, like enraged beasts, tore off their tattered, festering arms wrapped in rags, their stench filling the air, and roared as they lunged at the money pouch at Cai Wenji's waist.

This sound was like a spark igniting a powder keg, instantly unleashing a long-suppressed madness.

The crowd surged like a raging tide, instantly spiraling out of control.

The refugees let out inhuman howls, trampling over the fallen bodies of their companions, and swarmed towards the soup kitchen like locusts.

The sounds of scratching fingernails, hissing, and clashing metal blended together, creating a deafening cacophony.

Some people picked up stones and sticks from the ground and hurled them at the guards of the Cai residence and Cai Wenji.

Some people were tearing at each other's clothes, wrestling over scraps of leftover food.

Some people even used their bare hands, biting with their teeth and banging their heads against things, completely losing their minds.

Three guards from the Cai family quickly rode up to block Cai Wenji's path. The cold light of their drawn swords gleamed in the twilight, but they could not dispel the greed and madness in the eyes of the refugees.

The lead guard shouted, "Back off! All of you, back off!"

But the sound was quickly drowned out by the commotion of the crowd.

The refugees were not afraid of the sharp blades at all. They stepped over the corpses of their companions and clung to the stirrups, their fingernails scraping against the iron armor with a harsh sound, as if they wanted to devour the guards and Cai Wenji alive.

In the chaos, a second wave of people surged in, carrying stones with them.

The sounds of shields shattering, splinters flying, and screams of agony rose and fell.

Cai Wenji's hairpin broke during the shoving, and her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. However, she was roughly grabbed by the refugees and dragged into the mud.

Her neck struck the horseshoe, the taste of blood filling her mouth, and the world before her eyes became blurry and chaotic, while the riot, sparked by hunger, continued to escalate.

"stop!"

Just as the refugee's fingertips were about to touch Cai Wenji's neck, the air suddenly froze into lead.

The frosty moonlight surged without warning, turning the boiling crowd into a pale sculpture.

Ji Qiu arrived, stepping on the distorted moonlight. His dark-colored outfit accentuated his tall and straight figure. The bronze buckle on his belt emitted a dark golden halo. Nine ripple-like waves of energy exploded in concentric circles. Wherever they passed, rocks were suspended in mid-air, and the raised arms of refugees stiffened into twisted, withered branches.

His brows furrowed slightly, and crimson runes shimmered on his cold face. A faint golden aura rose around him. Though he did not utter a word, it was as if a heavy hammer was striking the hearts of everyone present.

The pupils of the thousands of rioting refugees suddenly contracted, and the weapons they held high fell to the ground uncontrollably.

The originally cloudy whites of their eyes turned bluish-green, and their ferocious faces froze instantly. An invisible pressure swept across the entire area like a tide, making their knees go weak and causing them to tremble and retreat involuntarily.

The refugees who had been screaming wildly just moments before were now suffocating under the pressure of this powerful aura. Some staggered and supported their companions' festering wounds, while others knelt in the porridge, picking up shards of pottery, their faces filled with fear and shame.

Ji Qiu strode over, each step seemingly landing on the hearts of the crowd. As he approached, the refugees slowly lowered their weapons, suppressed sobs escaping their throats, and the hostility between them vanished under his imposing presence.

He landed beside Cai Wenji in the moonlight. Where his robe sleeves brushed, the wounds of the injured formed thin, white scabs, and the surging blood foam turned into starlight and dissipated in the night wind. The rioting crowd had already calmed down under this terrifying aura.

Unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness!

This was the secret technique of unparalleled benevolence and righteousness that he obtained from Liu Bei through the dragon seed.

This secret technique has been cultivated to the third-grade initial stage, making it a truly high-level secret technique, extremely powerful.

When performing this secret technique, the faint golden aura surrounding the body is the physical manifestation of this power.

That invisible pressure was like an ancient deity looking down on all living beings, but it was not a violent suppression. Instead, it was filled with compassion and tolerance, like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, seeping into the hearts of every refugee.

It awakened the conscience buried deep within people's hearts by hunger and despair, instantly reminding those displaced people who had lost their minds in the riots of the kindness and gentleness in human nature.

The power of this secret technique lies in the fact that its aura is not merely intimidating, but can subtly influence the minds of others.

Just like planting a seed of benevolence and righteousness deep in everyone's soul, under the nourishment of the aura, the seed quickly takes root and sprouts, dispelling evil thoughts and hostility in the heart.

Therefore, under this powerful momentum, thousands of refugees laid down their weapons, regained their composure, and began to help and rescue each other. The originally chaotic and bloody soup kitchen gradually returned to order.

Behind the refugees, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes saw the rioting refugees being quelled in an instant, and his expression changed drastically.

He immediately withdrew and prepared to leave.

But how could Ji Qiu, who had already taken notice of him, let him leave?

With a flick of his wrist, the Imperial Seal of the State appeared in his palm.

The next moment, he uttered the word "seal," and countless vine-like light patterns suddenly shot out from the muddy ground, tightly binding the middle-aged man in fine clothes to his ankles.

The middle-aged man turned around in horror and saw Ji Qiu's golden aura surge, and the six-pointed star array that appeared in his palm rapidly expanded, completely enveloping him.

He struggled desperately, but to no avail.

The runes flowing on the halo seemed to burrow into his limbs and bones like living things, and his magnificent robes rustled as they were stretched by the power that bound them.

In the blink of an eye, the middle-aged man froze on the spot, unable to even move his eyes.

After sealing off the richly dressed middle-aged man, Ji Qiu ignored him and instead looked at Cai Wenji, who was still lying on the ground.

He stepped forward and helped Cai Wenji up, asking with concern, "Miss Cai, are you alright?"

Cai Wenji, still in shock and disoriented, said, "How... how could this have happened? Why did these refugees suddenly riot? I've been distributing porridge to them for the past few days, and I've clearly calmed down a lot of their violent emotions..."

The three Cai family guards who had also fallen to the ground and nearly died got up and looked at Ji Qiu with shock and fear in their eyes.

The sudden riot by the refugees shocked them, but Ji Qiu's ability to quell the riot in an instant shocked them even more.

This is a riot involving thousands of refugees. To quell such a riot, one would need at least a high-ranking scholar. Yet this person before me looks young, but unexpectedly, he is already a high-ranking scholar.

But we don't know which family's outstanding talent it is.

"The people have accumulated too much resentment. Even if the young lady's distribution of porridge has alleviated some of it, it is only a drop in the ocean and a temporary solution."

Moreover, there are people behind today's events, making it even more unavoidable. Ji Qiu shook his head and said calmly.

Cai Wenji was startled and exclaimed, "Someone is behind this? Does the young master mean that the peasant uprising just now was orchestrated?"
Who would do such a thing? And why would they do it?
Doesn't he know that inciting a peasant uprising will only kill those peasants?

“Of course they know, but they don’t care. After all, in their eyes, the lives of ordinary people are still considered worthless,” Ji Qiu said calmly.

The riot was started by ordinary people in Chang'an, but the people behind it were the high-ranking officials in the Chang'an court.

This is a conclusion that can be drawn without any investigation.

After all, Ji Qiu had sensed the trajectory of the Dragon Qi Secret Technique just moments before the riot began.

At the same time, immediately after quelling the riot, they sealed off the middle-aged man in fine clothes who was trying to escape.

In Ji Qiu's view, given the extent of Dong Zhuo's perverse actions in Chang'an, it was only natural that an uprising would break out in the city.

However, a simple peasant uprising could not overthrow Dong Zhuo.

After all, this is not the historical Three Kingdoms period, but the Three Kingdoms period filled with dragon energy.

In this extraordinary world, Dong Zhuo, who commands 200,000 Xiliang cavalry, could easily suppress even a rebellion of millions of ordinary people, let alone a simple uprising.

Therefore, simply inciting the people to riot is really just sending them to their deaths.

But those high-ranking officials standing behind them were all from aristocratic families. When had they ever cared about the lives and deaths of ordinary people?
In their view, even a peasant uprising, which could deplete some of Dong Zhuo's strength, would be of value.

After all, as one side gains and the other loses, Dong Zhuo's strength weakens while theirs naturally becomes stronger.

Cai Wenji fell into deep thought, not immediately realizing who Ji Qiu was referring to as the mastermind behind everything.

After all, she didn't have Ji Qiu's keen insight and directness, nor did she possess Ji Qiu's advanced understanding of the Three Kingdoms.

Ji Qiu, in particular, has an appearance that clearly indicates he is from a prominent family.

How could she have imagined that Ji Qiu would betray his own class?
Ji Qiu was too lazy to explain to her; there was no need, and no time.

He took out a jade pendant and handed it to Cai Wenji, saying directly, "Miss Cai, my name is Ji Qiu, and I am Cai Zhenji's husband. I have come to pay my respects to you at Zhenji's request. Please introduce me to you, Miss Cai."

Despite having been saved earlier, Ji Qiu felt it would be more appropriate to visit Cai Yong as Zhen Ji's husband.

When Cai Wenji first heard the name Ji Qiu, it sounded somewhat familiar.

But before she could think further, Ji Qiu's next words completely captivated her attention.

Her gaze then fell on the jade pendant, and her expression suddenly became excited: "This is my second sister's personal jade pendant! You really are my second sister's husband? That's wonderful! I haven't heard from my second sister in so long, I thought she..."

Cai Wenji was so excited that she was incoherent. She and her second sister had been close since childhood. When Cai Yong was demoted to Jiangnan, he entrusted Cai Zhenji to the Taiyang clan. At that time, she burst into tears.

Later, a misfortune befell the Taiyang clan, and they suffered a great calamity. She thought her second sister had also died in the disaster, and she was grieving for a long time.

Unexpectedly, he heard news of his second sister again, and he was overjoyed.

"Come with me back to the manor, I'll take you to see Father right now!" Cai Wenji grabbed Ji Qiu and hurriedly headed towards the Cai manor room.

The Cai Mansion was located on the southeast side of the imperial palace in Chang'an.

The vermilion gate is adorned with a pair of copper rings, and the plaque reading "Cai Mansion" hangs high above the lintel.

Crossing the threshold, which is about ten feet high, the reliefs of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars on both sides of the bluestone-paved path are vividly displayed under the illumination of palace lanterns. At the corner of the corridor, there is a bluestone screen engraved with famous lines from the Book of Songs, and the fragrance of ink blends with the sandalwood beads hanging under the corridor.

Passing the screen wall, the pavilions and towers within the hundred-acre mansion are arranged in a well-organized manner.

The west library is three stories high, with a bronze statue of the God of Literature perched on the eaves. Pushing open the carved wooden door, you can see sandalwood bookshelves extending to the dome, with ancient books wrapped in parchment neatly arranged. Even the ladder is made of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the handrails are carved with scenes of literary masters writing calligraphy throughout history.

The pavilion on the east side overlooks a lotus pond, the bottom of which is covered with rubbings of the "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion". Whenever the wind blows, the ripples on the surface of the pond are like ink stains on rice paper.

The courtyard is filled with the refined tastes of literati. The Taihu stones are inscribed with poems by the Cai family ancestors, and luminous pearls are embedded in the cracks of the stones, which look like stars falling to earth after nightfall.

The railings of the covered walkway are carved with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo and chrysanthemums, and the bamboo curtains hanging under the walkway are printed with ink and wash landscapes. Walking through it is like traveling through a series of flowing scrolls of calligraphy and painting. Even the breeze that brushes your face seems to carry the fragrance of ink from a thousand years ago.

Cai Wenji hurriedly led Ji Qiu into the Cai residence, then let Ji Qiu rest in the living room while she went to the study alone to inform Cai Yong.

After a while, Cai Yong led Cai Wenji into the main hall.

Cai Yong was over forty years old, with his temples slightly frosted with white, yet his eyes and brows exuded a calm and composed aura more profound than that of bronze chimes.

His face was thin and refined, his nose was high and straight like the tip of a writing brush, and his eyes were so deep that they seemed to see through the mottled characters on the bamboo slips.

Ji Qiu bowed to Cai Yong and said, "Greetings, General of the Left, Marquis of Gaoyang."

During Dong Zhuo's period of dictatorship, Cai Yong held a very high position in the court.

As early as his time in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo had heard of Cai Yong's great reputation and was eager to recruit him to his cause to strengthen his own power.

At that time, Cai Yong was in exile because he had offended powerful figures.

In an attempt to force Cai Yong to come out of seclusion, Dong Zhuo threatened to exterminate his entire clan. Left with no other choice, Cai Yong had to accept the summons and go to Luoyang.

Upon joining Dong Zhuo's camp, Cai Yong was appointed as the chief libationer. Although this position held no real power, it was quite influential in the field of culture and education. Dong Zhuo's intention was to use Cai Yong's name to win over scholars from all over the country.

Later, Dong Zhuo recommended Cai Yong as a high-ranking official, appointing him as a Supervising Censor. He was then transferred to the position of Imperial Censor and soon promoted to Minister.

Cai Yong's career advanced several ranks in a short period of time, which shows how much Dong Zhuo valued him.

In the first year of the Chuping era, Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, and Cai Yong followed him there.

During this period, Dong Zhuo appointed Cai Yong as Left General of the Household and granted him the title of Marquis of Gaoyang.

The position of "Left General of the Household" was in charge of the palace guards and was an important military post. Dong Zhuo used this position to show his trust in Cai Yong and hoped that he could advise him on military and political matters.

The title of "Marquis of Gaoyang" not only granted Cai Yong a prestigious status but also granted him the privilege of receiving a fief, resulting in substantial economic rewards.

(End of this chapter)